Alex Steed's recent connective predictions post got us at Social Ch@nge thinking about the future of technology and civil society. Here's our predictions for 2009 and beyond, based on some of the trends we've been watching at Social Ch@nge this year.

1) Cells will save lives

Over the holidays, online changemakers did not cease to churn out news. Below you will find the latest Social Actions round-up, bringing us up to date with the movers and shakers of online social activism. We'd like to start the New Year by featuring three breaking stories.

i-Vission International, the same organization managing the Douala Net Tuesday, is organizing an international colloquium in Douala, Cameroon, for February 19-21, 2009, and is currently calling for papers.  The topic is:  The Impact of Cyber Criminality on the Economy of a Developing Nation.

The deadline to submit an essay is January 19, 2009.  More details below.

3-Day Colloquium

The Impact of Cyber Criminality on the Economy of a Developing Nation

In such a me-manner, I began editing and paring down another entry from my UCC Social Media Case Study and I ended up with more text than I began with. The following, an address of "social media strategy/implementation" versus engineering, the importance of reading books, talking with people and fertilizing "mind gardens," and the relevance of organizers and intellectuals published before 2000, was a tangental thought that best stands alone.

Okay, I'm back.

Thanks to you who are emailing me privately and commenting here on the blog.  Let's jump right in.  I got this message anonymously (this is part of a longer email)...

"I have a somewhat specific interest that I thought I'd pass along in the spirit of two-way media.  I am a young professional working at a membership-based environmental nonprofit.  My background is nontechnical...  I am trying to transition some...academic knowledge into job skills.

Budgets are an inescapable reality of non-profit life, and they’re especially important when everyone’s panicking about economic crisis. Here’s a step by step guide on how to make a budget, and start 2009 off panic-free. (More...)

 In October, I looked at the population of my mother's United Church of Christ congregation and I noticed that it was relatively devoid of teens, 20-somethings, and folks in their early thirties. How could the church use social media to retain these potential members, I asked. I took a look at how the church was presently utilizing social media, met with Rev.

This year's going to be different! Tackle 2009 head on by putting these five basic resolutions into practice and kiss your non-profit office headaches of 2008 goodbye.

"New Year's Resolutions" Original Photo by Flickr user Ian Turton, CC Licensed

1) I will back up my computer every two weeks.

Hey All,

So I received a few responsest to my post last week about how can N2 engage the community better.  Most came privately to my email address, and it is a theme in those emails that I want to use as this next engagement email.   Here is what one person wrote to me (this is only a portion of a much longer email about a variety of topics):